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Despite winning the opening event of the year on the US PGA
Tour, Stuart Appleby's preparation for the US Masters has seemed,
on the surface at least, something between a disaster and an
out-and-out catastrophe.

Two weeks ago he missed the cut at The Players Championship.
Then he withdrew from the rain-delayed BellSouth Classic because of
persistent pain in his left hip. Add the sleep deprivation caused
by his four-month-old daughter Ella, and Appleby's recent travails
hardly fill you with confidence that he is about to improve his
disappointing record at Augusta - five missed cuts in eight
appearances and not one top-20 finish.

Yet, despite ill-founded reports he was considering bypassing
the Masters, Appleby, 33, says things are not quite so bad as they
seem. While he is still suffering some stiffness down his right
side, he said his decision not to play last week was merely
precautionary.

"I pulled out of the tournament because I had some injury issues
that were going to get worse with playing," he said. "There was
never any mention of chronic back pain or chronic hamstring or
anything. It was just not worth playing to prepare for this event,
so I thought it was probably 70-30 against playing."

As for his unusually dismal performance at the TPC, Appleby
claimed his big numbers were the result of a technical problem that
put the clubhead out of alignment at the point of contact. His
swing was OK, he said, the club was just in the wrong position at
impact.

And if that sounds a bit like Greg Chappell's old line about
playing well but just getting out, Appleby is backed up by coach
Steve Bann, who has spent the past two weeks making the necessary
repairs. "He actually wasn't missing by that much," Bann said.
"He's hitting the ball pretty well now, it certainly wasn't as bad
as the scores made it seem."

If the swing can be repaired, Appleby seems doubtful that his
case of golfer's back will ever go away. The best he can do is
minimise the inconvenience by stretching. "Like an old car, I just
need a few more oil changes as I get older," he said. "Keep the
rust away and we'll be fine."

Although he is just one of a record eight Australians in the
Masters this year, Appleby's record, more than most in the
post-Norman era, has become symbolic of the inability of an
Australian to win here. However, despite the fact he has not broken
70 at Augusta, Appleby said he had not become embittered or
frustrated.

"I love it, I've never hated it," he said. "It's a work of art.
I haven't played much chop here, so my goal would be the top 10.
That would be a good achievement, a very good achievement to walk
away with a top 10."

Particularly given that, just last week, even the walking part
was proving problematic.